the housekeeping manager said that new materials were needed to clean the premises, Carter replied that cleaning was too expensive and suggested ordering a couple of flamethrowers for complete disinfection in order to sterilize the office for the next six months and forget about cleaning. A couple of minutes later, another deputy reported that, most likely, the expected volume of wheat would be too large for which the existing storage facilities would not be sufficient.
– No problem – Carter said. – Let’s start a parrot farm. My daughter has two. They eat like pigs. – And then he added quite seriously: – We’ll order a new warehouse. We’ll put it there and sell this part first.
Carter Beckran in the eyes of his subordinates was not a boss, but a dream. He never ignored requests from employees, and at the same time he taught everyone to come with specific proposals to resolve the issue. Everyone could joke with him or talk in a language convenient for themselves. Carter knew how to feel for the general wave, using a variety of slang words depending on how the interlocutor expressed himself.
At forty-two, Carter continued to maintain his usual appearance. He wore short black hair without bangs and always had light stubble. With a stocky build and a height of one hundred and eighty centimeters, Carter’s light blue irises especially stood out. Even with a wide lower jaw and a dimple on his chin, his brutal appearance became much softer. Carter also did not change his clothing habits over the years. He always wore either light blue jeans or comfortable semi-sweatpants. He had approximately equal numbers of shirts and T-shirts in his wardrobe, but if every single T-shirt had short sleeves, then on his shirts he always rolled up the sleeves to the elbow, not being able to stand a longer length. There was a little more variety on Carter’s feet, but no matter the color, material or thickness of the shoes, they were always sneakers.
After the office, Carter got back behind the wheel of his blue Jeep Comanche and drove to the next facility, located two kilometers from the office building. It was a garage with a car repair shop where all equipment was serviced. On the way to the garage, Carter thought about redistributing part of the profits from the sale of excess wheat through the payroll as bonuses to motivate him for the future.
Once in the workshop, Carter came across two mechanics and the chief engineer, who were sitting at a makeshift table made from a truck tire and a meter-long piece of plywood, playing poker. Since Carter highly valued work, he forbade gambling, which is why the workshop stocked a bunch of coins in denominations of one, five and ten cents, which replaced the gaming chips.
– Hello everyone – Carter said, raising his open palm.
Everyone greeted loudly and in unison, and chief engineer Seth Crawford, age forty-five, added:
– Chief, how are you?
Carter answered, looking at the equipment around him:
– Nothing tragic, so great.
– Would you like to join us? asked twenty-nine-year-old mechanic Matthew Rabb.
– Come on, Mr. Beckran – called the second mechanic, twenty-seven-year-old Edmund Kaps.
Carter took a deep breath and said:
– Eh, you guys are strange.
– Why is this, boss?
– What do you mean “why”? How else can we explain your proposal to sit down at the table and punish you? – With these words, Carter began counting out twenty coins from three jars.
Poker coins were a kind of common fund. They were sorted into three-liter jars, from which they were taken out each time and counted out for the game.
Sitting down at the table, Carter slammed his palms and said decisively:
– Well, distribute the cards. Now the authorities will punish you.
While Edmund was distributing, Carter asked:
– Are we ready to mow the lawn?
The phrase “mowing the lawn” in the workshop meant harvesting when the harvester left bare soil.
– Chief, you’re a little late. It’s been three days since we brought our weapons into combat readiness.
– And you must be punished for being late – Edmund said in a slightly timid tone, dealing out the last card.
– You’re still messing with me here, suckers. – There was synchronized laughter at the table, and Carter added: – You have already been told that I will be the one doing the punishment here.
Along with the game, Seth talked in detail about what they had done with the equipment over the past two weeks. Carter asked about the components required for subsequent repairs and the condition of the equipment, taking into account wear and tear. Seth said that one of the pickups needed new tires, and also that all passenger cars would be better off switching to a different motor oil, which he had recently spotted at the store. The two combines were almost at the end of their working capacity, but Seth convinced that it was better to buy only one next year, since one of the two old ones could be disassembled for spare parts and put some of them on the second one, and thus make it work for a couple more seasons.
After Carter’s father left his job due to spinal problems, Carter began rapidly making changes to his company. He purchased slightly different equipment and updated grain storage facilities; the crop was sold in other places, where they paid two or three times more for each ton, since Carter also delayed the sale, waiting for the most opportune moment when prices soared to the limit. This was the only manifestation of passion in Carter’s character, which could have cost him great financial losses. But his instincts never let him down, and no one understood how he knew when to wait to sell and when to get rid of the goods as soon as possible. One way or another, Carter never miscalculated the timing of the sale. Carter completely abandoned some types of crops. Now he didn’t even want to hear about cabbage or corn. He was interested in wheat, barley, rice, potatoes, beets, tomatoes, cucumbers, pumpkins and watermelons. Having taken over the business from his father’s hands, Carter redistributed the crops and planted one plot with trees, which he also made good money on, recouping the costs in the third year. Now his plans included vineyards. Recently he even inspected a wine cellar in Arizona to start creating his own brand and produce a product that, in ten to fifteen years, could be sold to some moneybags willing to pay sky-high prices for one bottle.
Carter had very far-reaching plans.
6. Closed lake
The boat station remained the only way in Heartstone to get out on the lake. There were no households along the entire coastline. The only public beach was adjacent to the boat station. The owner of the station, Ruben Hustler, decided from the very beginning to make a deal with the authorities, refusing to charge residents for visiting the beach in exchange for tax breaks, pledging to take care of the beach. There was not a day that Ruben regretted this decision. With the opening of the season, the beach was always full of people, among whom there were always those who wanted to ride a boat, speedboat or catamaran.
Even at sixty-five years old, with mild arthritis and varicose veins, Ruben did not want to think about retiring. The boat station was the meaning of his life. He was constantly changing something at his facility. Ruben considered the most serious acquisition to be the launching of the longboat, which became very popular with
